San Jose chooses not to expand the cryptopilot
July 12, 2022
by Sarah Wray
A project using an Internet of Things (IoT) crypto-mining network to raise funds for digital inclusion in San Jose will not be continued beyond the pilot phase, the city has confirmed.
The pilot with Helium was announced in September and went from January.
Volunteers and small businesses host a total of around 20 hotspot nodes on a decentralized IoT network. These are my Helium cryptocurrency tokens (HNT) based on providing wireless coverage and transferring data from nearby devices.
The San Jose program aims to cover the cost of affordable Internet plans for over 1,300 low-income households in a year.
As the pilot phase draws to a close, Clay Garner, City of San Jose’s Chief Innovation Officer and Director of the Mayor’s Office of Technology and Innovation (MOTI), said Cities today: “We are moving our digital inclusion efforts towards accelerating unit refurbishment – which has already generated more than $ 130,000 for the San José Digital Inclusion Fund with just two partnerships.
“We believe this is a more scalable, reliable and green fundraising model for cities to bridge the digital divide.”
Through its Digital Inclusion Fund, launched during the pandemic, San Jose aims to raise and distribute $ 18 million in additional funding for Internet connectivity, digital education and devices over the next ten years. The unit refurbishment scheme recovers donated units from technology companies and sells them to fund new units for San José students in need.
About the Helium pilot, Garner added: “We are in the process of converting the HNT tokens to fiat currency with Helium. The final amount of dollars generated will be subject to price variations of HNT on the day of conversion from HNT to USD – and thus decide “How many residents will receive the grant? We will end the Helium pilot after the funds have been paid in full.”
A spokesperson for Helium said: “The Helium ecosystem is currently working with other companies focused on smart city applications, and at this time we are focused on building the network with key applications.”
Cryptocracy
Cryptocurrencies had begun to arouse interest in a handful of US cities, but San Jose’s decision comes in what is being described as a “cryptocurrency winter” as the value of Bitcoin and others has plummeted in recent months.
Miami was the first to agree to accept funds from CityCoins, which aims to create a new revenue stream for local governments along with miners through city-specific cryptocurrencies. Miami received a payout of $ 5.25 million from the project in February, but the coin has lost over 80 percent of its value since it was launched in August 2021.
After MiamiCoin, CityCoins also launched NYCCoin, but Mayor Adam’s administration has apparently not been involved since he took office in January. Philadelphia briefly explored the idea of its own CityCoin, but quickly dropped it again.
On its own initiative, San Jose recently announced a $ 750,000 program funded by the Knight Foundation to increase transparency about technologies such as automated license plate readers and to use data to achieve fair results. This builds on the work led by Harvard Business School Leadership Fellow Christine Keung to establish a data equity team and develop an equity framework.
